The Wedding
by nomnomemma
Summary: Slight AU. Post Litchfield. On the day of her wedding, Piper looks back over her past two relationships with Alex and Larry and comes to peace with the fact that she's made the right choice. Piper/Larry, and Piper/Alex.


I've been itching to get something down about this pairing for weeks now, so here goes! I've had this idea in my head for quite some time, though it took me a while to actually write it down and flesh it out properly.

Disclaimer (because I don't particularly fancy going to prison, unless Alex Vause is there, in which case, sign me right up!) - original story and characters belong to Piper Kerman and Jenji Kohan, respectively._  
_

Apologies for any mistakes, I haven't written anything in months, and I'm super disorientated from working night shifts, but I've tried my best to proof read it all!

Enjoy!

* * *

As a little girl, Piper had always dreamed about her future wedding.

In her mind, she painted wonderfully intricate depictions of herself in a flowing white gown, standing at the altar of a beautifully ancient church, exchanging rings with a handsome man reminiscent of a Disney-esque Prince Charming whilst surrounded by hundreds of friends and family; the picture perfect wedding.

She has the wedding planned out to the last detail – even going as far as sketching out drawings of the cake (five tiers, decorated with bright pink icing) with crayons in one of her coloring books, and writing out her vows in her wobbly, five year olds' handwriting, earnestly encouraged by her mother.

Now she stands, barefoot, in her last few minutes of being a single, unmarried woman, on the sunned sands of a beach in Indonesia.

Her billowing white gown is replaced instead with a simple summer dress, sunbleached by days spent under a scorching Southeast Asian sun; the aged and rustic church substituted for a stretch of pristine sand and clear Pacific waters (quite frankly, Piper doesn't think she'll ever be able to face setting foot inside a church ever again following her choice of extra-curricular activities with her incarcerated ex-girlfriend at Litchfield federal prison's chapel); and as for her Prince Charming, well, that was a whole other story in itself.

And whilst reality could not be further from her childish wedding fantasies, Piper finds herself not even caring in the slightest.

She watches with a small smile on her face as the few guests chatter idly amongst themselves, leaning back in the wooden deck chairs laid out in small rows, waiting for the ceremony to start. Only a small, select number of friends bore invitations - a quieter, more intimate ceremony obviously preferred - and the distinct lack of family members ensured that the day would swing by, drama free.

Whilst several eyebrows were raised at the presence of Piper's ex (and even more eyebrows were raised at the fact that they were accompanied by a plus one – a pretty redhead from New York - _the cheek!_), the remainder assumed that during her time in prison, Piper had finally managed to patch things up with her previous lover and was mature enough to handle having both Alex and Larry present together at her wedding.

Alex and Larry hadn't spoken since their brief conversation in the visitation room at Litchfield all those years ago, and Piper suspected that they probably wouldn't start now. They had both offered one another a silent, yet understanding nod of acceptance as Piper had reintroduced the two earlier that morning, and that had been enough for her. She knew that it had been hard for both of them; both of them had tried to win her over, but in the end, only one of them had succeeded, leaving the other to leave empty handed. And although Piper's made a decision now, she'll never forget that at one point she was in love with both of them, or at least she thought she was.

From where she's standing, she has a clear view of both of them; her past sat on one of the dozen chairs laid out in rows on the sand, accompanied by a gorgeous new girlfriend (though Piper was as of yet unaware that said girlfriend had recently just upgraded to fiancé status, despite them only being together for seven months), whilst her future stood at the front of the congregation, awaiting her hand in marriage.

There's a small squeeze of her hand, and she turns to focus on Polly, who had apparently materialized out of nowhere, and who beams back at Piper with her usual enthusiasm for life.

Polly played the double role of bridesmaid (just as she always had in Piper's wedding fantasies as a child) and as Piper's escort. Piper's father had never really approved of any of her relationships, both Alex and Larry included, and since being imprisoned for her involvement in an international drug ring, she had, in his eyes, failed him as a daughter. Somehow, the idea of being 'given away' by someone who would never truly bless his daughter or her choices in life just seemed plain wrong to the engaged couple.

Whilst Polly was initially unsure about whether or not getting married was the right thing for Piper considering her tumultuous past and her incapability to choose between the two people that she loved, she'd eventually come around. Serving time in prison had matured Piper considerably from her previously naïve outlooks into a more confident, decisive individual and because of this, Polly trusted her choice despite her past mistakes and gave her best friend her blessing. That, and she really, _really_ wanted a chance to be a bridesmaid for Piper just as Piper had done for her, even if the ceremony was a little unorthodox.

She thrusts a haphazard bouquet of flowers – picked that very morning by a local woman who had insisted on giving Polly a guided tour in broken English of the plants and wildlife native to the island of Java as she located the flowers, much to Polly's displeasure – into Piper's hand, before looping her arm through Piper's.

"Ready?" she asks with a grin.

"Ready" Piper replies nervously, squeezing her eyes shut as the music (supplied by two local boys with traditional wooden guitars) began. She took two deep breaths for good luck and started walking, Polly guiding her best friend at a slow pace down the smooth raked-sand aisle.

Opening her eyes, she is greeted by a dozen or so pairs of eyes, all transfixed on her as they walk, and she's instantly transported back to her first day at Litchfield as she was led through the corridors lined with inmates, all watching her, hard faced and devoid of emotion. And whilst here the faces clearly depict joy and heartfelt wishes of eternal happiness, Piper still can't shake the very same feelings that she'd encountered on her first day in prison.

Had she made the right choice? Just as she had chosen to admit guilt without trial and subjected herself to a gruelling prison sentence over her freedom, she had forced herself to choose between Alex and Larry.

The international drug smuggler, and the good natured aspiring writer.

The woman who had whisked her away across the globe, who had taught her to let go of her insecurities and how to free fall effortlessly through life, and who had made love to her passionately over and over until Piper had lost count of the number of times she'd orgasmed each night. Alex, who was wild and dangerous, and who had even out Piper in peril on more than one occasion, yet had Piper smitten within a matter of mere seconds, making Piper feel like a teenager in love again, radiating energy and happiness in all directions.

The kind of person her parents had always warned her about as she was growing up.

And then the man who had comforted Piper, who had wooed her the old fashioned way with romantic walks along the beach, who had promised her the much sought-after perfect suburban lifestyle, complete with a house, kids, and a dog. Larry who, God bless him, tried his hardest for her when it came to the bedroom. The man who offered her stability and security, who worked a decent, _legal_ job and who was honest and loyal and faithful, and was prepared to love her despite her flawed past and her prison sentence – something even her own parents were incapable of doing.

The Prince Charming she had fantasized about as a little girl.

She spots Alex – the only person in the congregation who hasn't turned around to face Piper, and who is instead facing stubbornly ahead at the beach spreading out before her. She, too, is dressed casually (there had been no dress code), and her hair, grown out to a length that nearly reached the bottom of her breasts again, just as she'd always worn it pre-Litchfield, was casually scooped over one shoulder, mussed slightly from the small breeze flitting over the beach.

She's almost disappointed that Alex won't face her, but at the same time she's not really surprised, because that's just Alex. Alex, forever unpredictable, who is virtually unreadable to most and who does her own thing, who ignores the rules and regulations, written or not, and who will damn well look at the bride whenever she fucking wants to, instead of when she's supposed to.

Her eyes travel instead to Larry who, predictably, she knows will be facing her. His eyes meet hers, and his boyish face lights up in that charming, comforting smile she's grown to know so well over the years. The smile that had comforted Piper when she felt weak and vulnerable, and that had always reassured her that she was in safe hands. And as she returns the smile, albeit forced and tight-lipped, she realizes that Larry is looking at her as though she's the most beautiful woman in the room.

_Well,_ _most beautiful woman on the beach_.

And Piper realizes, as she's almost reached the makeshift altar that had been set up on the beach in front of her, that her decision is final, and she couldn't be happier.

They've reached the altar, and Polly unloops their interlocked arms before leaning in and giving Piper a quick kiss on the cheek of good luck, before stepping back and taking her seat next to Pete.

And suddenly Piper is left with the one person she was about to spend the rest of her life with. The person who had forgiven Piper for all of her shitty behaviour, and who had forgiven her for abandoning their relationship in favour of a relationship with someone else, and who had loved Piper up until, during, and ever since her sentence in prison.

Piper steps up closer, a smile playing on her face as she murmurs a small "hey", which prompts a chuckle and a "hey, yourself" in return, before she feels familiar strong fingers brush up against her own, entwining their hands together.

The preacher begins his speech, and Piper does her best to follow it, but she's on a different planet, her mind reeling with memories of places and conversations and laughter and kisses, of lazy afternoons spent reading together, of nights out in bars with their friends. Memories of _mind-blowing_ sex, and of spooning for hours afterwards, bathing in each other's glow; of late morning brunch dates, of spontaneous trips.

She's brought back to reality by the mention of vows, and she turns with a smile to face her fiancé.

Their vows are short and simple, the underlying theme of their wedding, and were written the night before at some point after the pre-wedding meal with their friends and before the post-meal shower sex when the pair got back to their hotel room.

The preacher motions for Piper to start, and as she rattles off her vows, Larry can't help but gently squeeze his fiancé's hand in happiness.

Piper tries to listen as the preacher continues, then motions for the second set of vows, but her mind is focused on Alex, or more specifically, what Alex and herself used to get up to behind the altar inside the Litchfield prison chapel, and she can't help but smile at the thought. It's wrong to be thinking this at her wedding, and Piper knows this, but she can't help it, and she almost laughs at the knowledge that any other woman on her wedding day would be thinking only of her betrothed, but instead Piper is thinking about fucking her then-girlfriend in the prison chapel.

The pair exchange rings, Piper's hands nearly trembling as the band is slid onto her finger, and she knows that the famous final seven words are coming.

"You may now kiss the bride" the preacher announces with a smile as he snaps his book shut.

And Alex does, her hand sliding down to Piper's waist and gently pulling the shorter woman into her, the index finger of her other hand softly tilting her chin upwards before she presses her lips against Piper's, her tongue dancing against lips that yielded immediately.

Alex kisses her slowly yet passionately, drawing it out into a long, fairytale kiss, to which their assorted friends laugh and cheer at.

And when Alex finally pulls back from a lingering kiss on Piper's lips, and smiles her usual cocky mischievous smile, Piper knows she's made the right choice. Because even though Larry had looked at her as though she were the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen, it made Piper realize that Alex Vause looked at her like that every single day.

-fin.

* * *

I know the idea of Alex and Piper getting married seems a little out of character, especially for Alex, but I like to think that, once they're out of Litchfield, its something that Alex would be prepared to put up with to make Piper happy :)

_06-08-2013_


End file.
